Chiconomics
8 iconic party dresses that come with zero regrets, from £35
To buy or not to buy? Whether you’re team purchase or team rental, these dresses will help you look fash, for less cash, this Christmas and next…
Christmas cocktails, Boxing Day brunches, Hanukkah house parties, New Year’s Eve blowouts, school shindigs, winter weddings, office parties, Thanksgiving catchups, Friday night drinks, endless dinner parties… Going out out season can feel like a lot, can’t it?
Yet party season needn’t feel overwhelming – dressing up should be a joyful affair! The best party dresses are regret-free, envy-inducing, compliment-enticing, standout style wardrobe classics – that won’t break the bank, whether you’re renting or buying.
Designed for all budgets, these eight best dresses are: a) proof that rental occasionwear needn’t be costly, for purses or planet – and b) will help you win best dressed at every do, whether it’s a spontaneous night out, or the party that you’ve been planning for the best part of 2022.
So say YES to the dress! Look WOW for less wonga! Make dressing up a doddle! From the clever cost-per-wear classic to the show stopper, the head turner and the feel-good-forever fabric – here’s how to find your perfect party plus one, from £35…
The fashun one – Elliatt Massau Dress
Be it a swanky work event, winter wedding or a trip to the Oscars (of your mind) a high impact, cooee-look-at-me dress will always work. This Massau number from Elliatt perfectly marries floral motifs with sexy crochet (yes, really) and sheer tiers (trying saying that after a martini) for a look that screams standout, but y’know, chic. Sure, buy it for £520 if you walk red carpets on the reg’, but IMO? It’s a once in a lifetime dress and best rented for less.
BEST TO RENT – from £67.60 or buy for £520
The classic – Elliatt Soroa Dress
This LBD is a classicist’s dream – sleek, chic and (shout out to all those body contour seams) undeniably flattering. Add nude or molten strappy mules and a wash of red lippie and you’re basically Penelope Cruz. Ish. If you’re on the hunt for something new, this is one smart investment – but you can rent it ‘as good as new��� too (phew).
BEST TO RENT – from £37.75 or buy for £255
The show stopper – Sabina Musayev Pacific Dress
Are you loud, proud and a helluva lot of fun? The party hasn’t started until you get there, amirite? Meet Sabina Musayev. In its shimmery, shiny, glittery, golden glory, the Pacific dress is perfect for you, aka peacocks, who love to party. Best worn for black tie events and BIG birthdays (emerging from behind a gold foil curtain, if you’re feeling krayzee) this dress is pure fashion gold.
BEST TO RENT – from £52.72 or buy for £388
The (feel good) fabric – Anna Scholz Velvet Shirred Dress
Prefer your occasionwear to come with a smattering of comfort and joy? Think velvet. And nothing feels quite as decadent as this dress – woven from silky smooth, strokably soft, subtly seductive, always sublime, shirred velvet. One for the conscientious and quietly confident party-goer who always gives great style, this claret-coloured delight suits all budgets and occasions.
BEST TO RENT – from £34.37 or buy for £225
The MRD - Somerset by Alice Temperley
Have Little Black Dresses left you feeling a bit blah? Midi lengths got you thinking, meh? Say HELLO to the MRD (aka the Midaxi Red Dress) shouty, satin and spirit-lifting – and in an undeniably ‘all-eyes-on-you’ hue (science says, when we wear red we attract the gaze of more people). Think of this dress as a timeless investment and an antidote to LBDs – but really? It’s just a surefire way to look ‘pulled together’ (even when you’re not).
BEST TO BUY – Somerset by Alice Temperley Satin Midaxi Dress, £110
The does-it-all dress – Thought
Are you free spirited and calm, conscientious and kind? As content in your own company as you are with your close-knit crew? Meet Thought’s smartest smock – wild in print, but subdued, and with just enough waft for you to reach new (Wuthering) heights on the dancefloor, without being all showy. Add burgundy boots by day and 1970s platforms by night, for serious cost-per-wears – safe in the knowledge that this dress will never date.
BEST TO BUY – Thought Animal print embossed dress, £120
The AM to PM dress – Kemi Telford
Leading the way at home and at play, you’re a real role model – whether you’ve realised it yet or not. Your perfect party dress plus one? The timeless AM to PM dress – loved by sensible sorts, investment-makers and anyone who’s looking to add some pizazz to the party.
Like you, this dress leaves a lasting impression – an homage to founder Yvonne Modupe Telford’s Nigerian heritage, it’s packed with all the ruff ’n’ puffed sleeved magic of a print-essential wardrobe classic. Guaranteed to turn heads from desk-to-dancefloor and winter wedding to Christmas Day. Treat your future-self now, she’ll love you for it!
BEST TO BUY – Kemi Telford print midi dress £160
The envy inducer – Whistles
Party season wouldn’t be a party without someone bringing the glitz! The glamour! The sequins! In shimmies Whistles’ gorge glitter gown – a Strictly-style, silver sequin, swishy-skirted, sass-rich saucepot.
Sure, at £199 it is spenny, but this spangly conversation-starter is more than worth the investment. By all means, dress it down with knitwear (to up the cost-per-wears, natch) but rest assured that you’ll be slinging on these sequins for Christmases to come. Splurge now, for standout style that sings!
BEST TO BUY – Whistles sequin dress £199
